Background Survivors (TV Series)
The background survivors, also sometimes classified as "redshirts"Redshirt is a slang term for a minor stock character of an adventure drama who dies violently soon after being introduced in order to dramatize the dangerous situation experienced by the main characters. The term originated with fans of the science fiction television series Star Trek, from the red shirts worn by Starfleet security officers and engineers, who frequently meet their demise during the episodes. Redshirt, Wikipedia. are the survivors who linger in the background during episodes while the main survivors are engaged in the story. These survivors usually have no part in the main storyline and perform normal, everyday, non-crucial actions, such as laundry and chores in the camp. Background survivors are usually left unnamed, have no speaking roles, and are uncredited. They are ideal for being used as redshirts, characters used to "dramatize the dangerous situation experienced by the main characters", such as the zombie attack on the camp in Episode 4 (Vatos). Background survivors also debut in the nursing home protected by the Vatos gang, as they are the thugs, volunteer nurses, and elderly residents living in security from the undead. Atlanta Camp A total of 27 survivors lived in the camp set up outside of Atlanta, 11 being nameless, background survivors. With the zombie attack on camp, all background survivors were killed in the attack. The following morning, they were all buried on the hillside, instead of being burned along with the rest of the zombie carcasses. File:Redshirt2 (DGB).jpg| Jan Interview with Frances Cobb File:Survivor3 (DGB).jpg| Frances Cobb Frances Cobb, IMDB File:Survivor (DGB).jpg| L. Stephanie Ray L. Stephanie Ray, IMDB File:Survivor2 (DGB).jpg| Male survivor #1 File:Malesurvivor2 (Vatos).png| Joe Hernandez Interview with Frances Cobb File:Redshirt (DGB).jpg| Male survivor #2 File:Redshirt4 (DGB).png| Female survivor #1 File:Femalesurvivor1 (Vatos).png| Female survivor #2 File:Malesurvivor (Vatos).png| Male survivor #3 File:BlueRedshirt (Guts).jpg| Female survivor #3 File:Husband (Vatos).png| Male survivor #4 *'Jan' - Blonde woman seen doing tasks in camp (Guts). See also: image from Guts *'Frances Cobb' - Woman with glasses & hat seen listening to radio (Days Gone Bye & Guts) See also: image from Guts *'L. Stephanie Ray' - Middle-aged black woman seen listening to radio (Days Gone Bye) *'Male survivor #1' - Older man with glasses carrying buckets, seen listening to radio (Days Gone Bye), sitting (Guts) See also: image from Guts *'Joe Hernandez' - Man in blue shirt loitering in background (Guts & Tell It to the Frogs) and watching confrontation with Jim (Vatos) See also: image and image from Guts *'Male survivor #2' - Man in plaid shirt seen doing tasks in camp (Guts) *'Female survivor #1' - Young woman with blonde hair seen listening to radio (Days Gone Bye) *'Female survivor #2' - Young brunette watching confrontation with Daryl (Tell It to the Frogs), killed in attack (Vatos). Was fleeing from zombies but one managed to grab her and kill her. See also: image from Tell It to the Frogs *'Male survivor #3' - Man in gray shirt standing around (Guts), watching fight with Daryl (Tell It to the Frogs) & confrontation with Jim (Vatos). Had two zombies grab ahold of him and he was killed. See also: image from Guts, image from Tell It to the Frogs & image from Wildfire *'Female survivor #3' - Woman in blue standing in front of RV (Days Gone Bye), watching fight with Daryl (Tell It to the Frogs) and confrontation with Jim (Vatos). She was seen lying dead next to another man. See also: image from Days Gone Bye, image from Vatos & image from Wildfire *'Male survivor #4' - Man in yellow walking around (Days Gone Bye), watching fight with Daryl (Tell It to the Frogs) and confrontation with Jim (Vatos). Was seen already dead being eaten by a zombie. See also: image from Vatos Atlanta Nursing Home At the nursing home are more than a dozen Vatos gang members, both thugs and nurses, and more than a dozen elderly residents that live in the well-protected compound that consists of a garage/workshop and the nursing home. All survivors are alive and well. File:Nurse1.png|Woman administering medicine File:Patient1.png|Elderly woman with gray hair File:Nurse2.png|Woman reading from a book File:Patient2.png|Old man being read to File:Patient3.png|Old woman resting in hall Notes *Special thanks to Brian of MyMedia-Forum.com for several screencaps of the background survivors. *'Frances Cobb' is a frequent background extra in many movies & TV shows, including as a campground survivor in The Walking Dead episodes Days Gone Bye and Guts. Taken from her November 7th Facebook status posting: ::Her status: Well, no luck in being seen in either Due Date or For Colored Girls, but I was seen for the second time in The Walking Dead. Last week, I was seen after about an hour. This time, I was at the beginning in the background preparing my tent and space in the campground. Looks like they will be using the campround a couple of more times. They filmed this all in one day. ::A comment from a friend: I think I saw you in last nights episode. Don't think you were wearing your straw hat? ::Her reply: Yes, you picked me out again. I was in the background arranging things for my tent. It was near the end of the day, so, they asked that I "lose the hat." I took it off, since I was finally in the shade! I think I will be in a couple of more episodes now because of the way they are inserting these scenes. Even though we were only there one day, it looks like we were there for weeks. :*Through email, Frances Cobb was asked by User:Mistertrouble189 about her role as background survivor (clarification when compared with a screenshot of her) and whether she only appeared in the show's pilot episode, as well as fate as of the zombie attack on the camp. This is what she had to say: ::Hello. Yes that is me. Thanks for the picture. I was also in the "Guts" episode in the distance preparing my tent. I was not consciously killed, but I have not seen myself except in the first two episodes. I could not believe how many scenes there are in the campground. I was only used one day perhaps due to my need of wearing a hat due to the sun. I'm glad it has been picked up for another season, but due to the ending of the last episode, they may have to change locations of the campground! *'L. Stephanie Ray' is an actress who appears in minor or non-credited roles in many movies and TV shows, such as Madea's Family Reunion, The Glades, October Road, and more. She has appeared as a background survivor during The Walking Dead pilot Days Gone Bye, watching Amy and Shane attempt to respond to Rick on the radio. External links * Background cast, Lostpedia. Category:TV Series Characters Category:Walking Dead Characters